UNIFEB professor joins team in radioembolization, unprecedented in SUS

UNIFEB professor joins team in unprecedented radioembolization in the SUS Credit: Disclosure A milestone in Brazilian public medicine included the participation of a professor from UNIFEB (University Center of the Barretos Educational Foundation). The Prof. Esp. Tamires Naiara Mantovani Granero, from the Biomedicine course, was part of the team responsible for the first radioembolization performed on a patient by the SUS (Unified Health System) at Hospital de Amor de Barretos, directly contributing to the image acquisition stage. Biomedic with specialization in Imaging Diagnosis, Tamires teaches the Clinical Laboratory discipline in the Biomedicine course at UNIFEB. During the procedure, his work was essential to validate clinical planning through advanced exams. "The biomedical's participation in the first radioembolization carried out at Hospital de Amor was entirely in the area of ??image acquisition. The patient underwent exams in the gamma camera (scintigraphy), PET-CT and angiograph. My direct participation was in the image acquisition in PET-CT, where we were sure that all the planning that had been done was completed successfully", he explains. Radioembolization is a minimally invasive technique, performed by a radiointervention team, which uses microspheres loaded with radioactive material, in this case, Yttrium-90 (Y-90). These particles are introduced through an intra-arterial catheter to the region of the liver tumor, causing obstruction of the vessels that irrigate it and contributing to the reduction or destruction of the lesion. "The majority of patients who are indicated for radioembolization have very large tumors and are not candidates for surgery or liver transplantation. The idea is to reduce the size of the lesion so that they can, in the future, undergo surgery or transplantation. If this happens, the chances of a cure increase", highlights the professor. In addition to the direct clinical benefits, the procedure also represents a positive impact on the public health system. According to Tamires, the technique can reduce costs with prolonged hospitalizations, treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as other complications throughout the therapeutic process. According to the professor, the project began with the donation of an Itrio-90 (Y-90) catheter and spheres by a manufacturing company, combined with the identification of a patient with a suitable profile for the treatment.